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Vinyl L.P • Adam VIII • 8018.
1975 • U.S.A • Unofficial.
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Back cover.
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Disc side 1.
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Disc side 2.
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Labels.
Masters Of British Rock Vol. 1 · John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr · The Solo Years + Friends, Relatives & Special Guests
ReplyDeleteRoots: John Lennon Sings the Great Rock & Roll Hits is a rare mail-order album issued by Adam VIII consisting of rough mixes of John Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album.
It was available through television sale for three days in January 1975 before Lennon and Apple/EMI pulled it off the market. Lennon then rush-released his "official" version in February 1975.
In a show of good faith, Lennon gave Levy a rough copy of the tracks to review. Levy offered to directly market the album via television mail order, through his own Adam VIII record label, bypassing Capitol and EMI, giving both Lennon and Levy a larger share of the album's profits.
Lennon gave his assent, and even considered appearing in a TV commercial to promote the album, but knew he would need the approval of EMI, Capitol and Apple Corps for the deal.
Production and distribution of Roots was halted and the albums were ordered destroyed. With only 3,000 copies of Roots reportedly pressed, original copies are rare and sought-after collector's items. Copies in mint condition have sold for US$2,000.
Lennon was disappointed at how poorly the mail order setup had actually worked, having ordered his own copy as a follow-up and had to wait almost a month to receive it.